The name was that of the mythical phoenix bird and was meant to symbolize the rebirth of Greece during the still ongoing Greek War of Independence.

The creation of a national currency was one of the most pressing issues for the newborn Greek state, so that the monetary chaos reigning in the country could subside.

Kontostavlos travelled to Malta, where he negotiated the purchase of several coin presses, originally owned by the Knights Hospitaller.

[1] Only a small number of coins were minted, estimated to just under twelve thousand[2] and most transactions in Greece continued to be carried out in foreign currency at a rate fixed by the newly established Committee of Economy.

Lacking precious metals to mint more coins, the government in 1831 issued an additional 300,000 phoenixes as paper currency with no underlying assets to back them.